"The Ballad of the Coward King" is a song in Ghost of a Tale. It recounts the story of King Rodrik the Third (though the lyrics specifically refer to him as Rodrik the First), the last Rat King, who fled his kingdom before a battle.
Lyrics[]
Come hear of Rodrik the First, the famous Coward King!
When all the way from Saltar's mines the Ferrets came a-charging
He cowered up to the highest tower as the warning bells a-tolled!
The glove was thrown, the moment come to show his true mettle
But yellow as brass was the coward king, and never quite as bold
On trembling shanks and soggy tail he set sail quite unsettled!
His subjects cried and called to him, but he left them to their sorrow
Until his ship was sunk as stone... and he cowered down below